I’d written a fair chunk of a post discussing how the team proved me wrong re; the Brighton game (fair play to them) and I was summing up how we’d performed over the season (suffice to say it was rubbish), but I didn’t get round to finishing it, hence it never got posted, mostly because the FFP hit the headlines.

Let’s just say I don’t quite believe the story that’s been put out that we only have £1 million to spend this season.
I’ve questioned Villa’s accounts on many occasions over the last few years and my opinion is they’re creative, to say the very least.
I hasten to add that I don’t believe they’re bent or illegal; just creative.
There is far too much money being written off for none-football stuff for my liking, for a start.

That said, it’s true that whichever way you look at it, we’ve spent a boatload of money on an under-achieving squad.
So it wouldn’t surprise me if the good Doctor did want to tighten the spending.

But this story also plays into our hands.
How often have we been bent over in having to pay inflated fees for players over the years? Far, far too many for my liking.
For every Kodjia, how many Ross McCormack’s have we had?

So what’s the answer, given that we don’t have a pot to do the proverbial in and the kids aren’t coming through?

Well, we’ve already got a few bob for Sanchez.
McCormack is worth a few mill (albeit another massive loss and I don’t believe he’s got a cat in hell’s chance of staying if Bruce has anything to do with it).
Gill will fetch a few quid, as will Veretout, Tish and others.

We’ll still be stuck with the likes of Gabby and Richards, who are on stupid money, but that’s the way it is.

The point is Bruce will not be limited to a poxy £1 mill. No way on earth.

What he’ll do with the money and how he’s going to improve our results is a totally different question though.

And unless he signs some players that can allow him to change his mind-set, or more accurately, actually play the game that I believe he wants to play, he’s going to be in serious trouble.

By that, I mean I believe the likes of “Nath” who says that he screams at the players to get the ball in the box, yet it doesn’t happen.
I’ve heard similar comments from a fair few attendees and it smacks of a team that’s massively lacking in confidence.

If Bruce can’t turn this around, I predict he’ll be gone by November.
But that’s for another day.

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47 Comments

I see the latest strategy is to dump the computer scouting, big Change now feet on the ground and flat cap scouting, i wasn’t aware we did that Chase computers for talent, like the idea of 10 out in the summer bet a few knees are knocking , and I hear that the team are in Australia? Why.

Computer scouting was introduced by that idiot (Brady? -name escapes me) who thought you could construct a winning side just by performance analytics. This might work in team sports where the roles are extremely specific. Baseball, NFL, possibly Rugby and Cricket.

It does not get near half the picture of a fluid game like football where the position of all the players on the field at any moment influences the optimum strategy. It also fails to take into account players’ relationships with each other. You can take a player out of one side and put him in another of nearly identical standard and get a big change in the mover’s performance. This may relate to how he gets on with his colleagues at the club.

Sometimes you have to suck it and see. All the pundits thought Lampard and Gerrard would be a great midfield combo for England. They weren’t because they did the same job, not the complementary job.

Thanks OLL, at least you answered back to me, i never knew that , it don’t seem right in football to me that, I’ve always believed in finding a players best position in a game by his telent. Still you learn as you go on in life.

Bill, it was Hendrik (?) Almstadt and Paddy Riley and some other idiot, who played “moneyball”, buying from statistics alone.
Probably under Tom Fox’s instruction (how out of his depth did he turn out to be, with his American corporate approach?).

In hindsight, if we want to play statistics, maybe we should just hire the latest “Championship Manager” or “Fifa 2017” fantasy league winner.

Well all I can say Badger, a bad time in Villa’s history, I’ve been following the local rag over the last few days, its all guessing on their part 50 million in players to be sold, pull the other leg ,who would want that crap.? God help us.

Yes, I saw that Hitch. I think even I’d prefer Samba there .
I’m all for looking after your own, but they have to be half decent.
Alex has always struck me as average at best. But maybe it’s more about having someone​ on your side in the dressing room?

A lot of truth in that Giddy, Alex Bruce will be at Villa you mark them words, and yes players will have to watch what being said its natural when siblings are working together, Mark you I think he would be better for the team as more passion would be shown.

I’ve always felt this has been a big part of our problem, Hitch.
The common complaint seems to be that the players don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing and there’s no plan/method to our play.

It makes you wonder what’s been going on and who is overseeing the setup, overall.
I mean, coaches have always come and gone, but there’s usually an overseer, with at least some sort of strategy.

I also believe this is the reason our academy has been so non-productive over the last few years.
The overall planning/setup seems incredibly poor and imo, this is the reason for us having a major clearout.